Panama's president, José Raúl Mulino, said on Friday that the crisis with the United States is over, after Donald Trump threatened in 2025 to take back the interoceanic canal because it was supposedly controlled by China.
The president said that "with steady resolve and time" and diplomatic work, the bilateral relationship was repaired and that Panama is now "actively" cooperating with the United States "in the fight against international crime." "Gone are the dire forecasts and the bombastic, short-sighted declarations," he said, referring to his critics.
Amid Trump's threats, Washington and Panama signed controversial security agreements that allow U.S. troops to conduct combat exercises for three years on Panamanian territory.
The United States built and inaugurated the canal in 1914, but handed it over to Panama on December 31, 1999, under bilateral treaties. Those agreements establish that all ships, regardless of their country, will pay tolls based on the vessel's capacity and the type of cargo.
In addition, Hutchison Holdings agreed to sell the port terminals in the canal to a conglomerate led by the U.S. firm BlackRock, although the sale has not yet been finalized.
In the midst of the crisis with Venezuela, the U.S. military has carried out three drills with Panama’s police, and new exercises are already scheduled for this year.
